Of the dozen “strategies” ranked by legal managers in terms of frequency, no unusual actions stand out, until the final three. As expected, the LexisNexis CounselLink study, entitled “Effects of the Current Economic Downturn on U.S. Law Departments” 2009 at 9, found that its 191 in-house respondents in-source work, ask for non-hourly billing, re-negotiate rates, and review invoices more carefully.

What stood out for me was that 10 percent of the respondents selected “Outsourcing Legal Work to Offshore.” Since nearly half of the respondents work in small legal departments, the percentage strikes me as unexpectedly high.

Also notable are the final two choices: 8.4 percent chose “Upgrading Commercial Payment Systems” and 7.3 percent chose “Upgrading Internal Payment Systems.” It’s hard to figure out what these strategies mean, other than efforts to obtain prompt payment discounts.